Reece Shearsmith to play Patrick Troughton in An Adventure in Space and Time

The Radio Times has revealed that former League of Gentlemen actor Reece Shearsmith will play Patrick Troughton in the Doctor Who 50th anniversary drama An Adventure in Space and Time.

The special BBC Two drama charts the genesis of Doctor Who and its early years on-air as part of its 50th anniversary celebrations. The special drama has been written by Mark Gatiss who has not only written for Doctor Who but also starred in the series as well. Gatiss also worked on the League of Gentlemen from which the latest casting for An Adventure in Space and Time has obviously proved to be inspiration for the writer.

Patrick Mulkern writing in the Radio Times has revealed that Gatiss has confirmed to him that Reece Shearsmith will play Patrick Troughton in the special drama. Troughton took over the role of the Doctor from William Hartnell in 1966 and remained with Doctor Who until 1969 but reprised his roles on three further occasions; The Three Doctors (1972), The Five Doctors (1983) and The Two Doctors (1985).

Mark Gatiss is quoted, by the Radio Times, as saying of the casting ““I first asked Reece about 12 years ago when I started thinking about this project. We were in the midst of League of Gentlemen and I just remember thinking, if anyone plays Patrick Troughton, it should be Reece. Like the second Doctor, he’s small, saturnine and a comic genius. The complete package. He thought it was a fantastic idea and I’ve kind of nurtured it all this time.”

The Radio Times article also confirms reports that William Russell – who played Ian Chesterton in Doctor Who – will appear in the drama as a character called Harry. Meanwhile Hollyoaks actor Jeff Rawle is playing Mervyn Pinfield the associate producer of Doctor Who who was assigned to the series to assist series producer Verity Lambert. Andrew Woodall will play Rex Tucker a BBC producer who worked on the series and later directed episodes of The Gunfighters. Ian Hallard will play director Richard Martin who helmed 22 episodes ofthe sci-fi series between 1964 and 1965.

Below is an updated cast list for An Adventure in Space and Time

David Bradley as William Hartnell
Jamie Glover as William Russell
Claudia Grant as Carole Ann Ford
Jemma Powell as Jacqueline Hill
Lesley Manville as Heather Hartnell
Reece Shearsmith as Patrick Troughton
William Russell as Harry